Zelenskyy Seeks Urgent Winter Support

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Nordic and Baltic countries to accelerate military, financial and energy support for Ukraine during an address to participants of the Ukraine–NB8 Summit on Aug. 23, 2026. He said ballistic missiles remained the country’s primary security threat and urged faster development of joint air-defense capabilities through the FREYJA program.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine faces a funding gap of 27 billion, including about 10 billion needed to secure weapons for the first quarter of 2027. He asked European partners to bring forward part of loan funding planned for next year, saying early financing was needed to begin weapons production and deliveries.

The Ukrainian president also urged partners to adopt broader sanctions targeting Russian companies, individuals and networks involved in ballistic missile production. He called for coordinated action by the European Union, non-EU European countries, Canada and the United States to increase pressure on Moscow.

Zelenskyy further requested continued energy and gas assistance ahead of winter and support for Ukraine’s ports and agricultural exports. He said Russia’s attacks on Black Sea infrastructure threatened global food supplies and called for expanded European Union quotas for Ukrainian food products. He also urged the opening of all six EU accession negotiating clusters this year.